Spinning and Cats

I did finally get a photo of my first four bobbins for this combo spin.  I have two more bobbins of singles left to spin and I'm working on the first of those now.  

You may have noticed that my spinning has slowed down a bit lately.  That can be explained with a name - Mr. Noodle.  (Yes, his name is technically Newton, but when we pick him up he does this thing where he completely relaxes and turns into a kitty noodle, so he's usually called Noodle - so much that it feels weird blogging about Newton.)  

He has wool issues, as in he can't stay away from it.  I can keep my knitting in project bags, but keeping the entire spinning wheel safe is a different matter.  I've been keeping it in the sewing room behind a closed door, but that means I have to get it out of the room, go back and get the Noodle out of the room, close the door, and haul the wheel downstairs every time I want to spin.  This meant I was unable to spin in the little 10-15 minute windows I had been using before, when the spinning wheel sat downstairs.  I would only go get it when I had a decent sized block of time to actually spin.  Sometimes there were several days or even a week where I just didn't spin.   I brought the wheel back downstairs where I could actually use it and I tried wrapping the wheel in a sheet but Noodle took it as a personal challenge and found a way in.  

I realized that I basically needed a giant project bag for my spinning wheel.  Something to keep the cat and the wheel safe from each other.  I don't have time right at this minute to make one so I went to Amazon.  I searched and wandered and finally realized that a tent would work.  We have a tent.  I got out the tent and set it up.  The spinning wheel fits in the tent.  It looks ridiculous in the family room, but it works.

Apparently - and I had no idea of this beforehand - Noodle has always wanted a tent in his life.  He realized that I had put the spinning wheel in there immediately and started checking for weaknesses.  After a thorough inspection, he realized he couldn't get to it.  He gave me a dirty look and wandered off.

But then he came back.  He realized that the tent was fun all by itself.  It has zippers and straps and things that can be slapped and you can go underneath it and behind it and jump out at Logan when he doesn't expect it.  The tent is fun!

Then I decided to spin, so I unzipped the tent, got out the wheel and started spinning.  At that point Noodle got to play inside the tent and the joy and rapture he was feeling at this new wonderful part of his life was unequaled.  This was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him.  He'd always wanted a tent.  It completes him.  Also, when the spinning wheel is out of the tent, it's very lightweight.  For obvious reasons I didn't stake it down into the hardwood, so it's very easy to scoot around the floor.  (This is also a great way to bug Logan because he isn't expecting to be woken up by having a tent shoved into his nose.)  So as I'm spinning happily away, I'm watching the tent scoot across the floor as it's pushed by the world's most joyful cat.  It might not be the most peaceful spinning I've ever done, but everyone is happy, the wheel is safe, and the silly cat is safe.

At some point I'll make a smaller bag for it but for now, we'll just have a tent in the family room.  In the meantime, he's sleeping really well at night!